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Darkholdt, Alexis
Bahr Nagash, Leul of the Realm, Makwonnen of Hamasin, Bitwadod of the Left, Tabaq Wadabatse ''(Warden of the Imperial Ports), ''Chube yaBahr ''(Dagger of the Seas), ''Qay Adaj'' (Red Hand), ''Azogash ''(Crocodile King). Early Life and Career An ex-Western Empire ''Navarchos, Alexis Darkholdt was born into a minor Britannian noble house with a naval tradition. After serving 15 years in Gaulish, Iberian and Hesperidean squadrons, he and his crew left Imperial service to seek their fortune in the Mediterranean as mercenaries. Mercenary Career In a dilapidated merchant cog called the Maris Umbra he sailed to the Byzantine port of Alexandria whereupon he met and befriended the founding members of the Societatis Rosa Niger. Imperial Service Upon reaching Abyssinia and taking up successful service with Iusefos I, Darkholdt and the Society began to acquire various vessels which would serve as the core of the fledgling Yabahratse. ''A policy of raids against Persian and Tri-States shipping using single ships or small squadrons earned Darkholdt the feared title of ‘The Red Hand’ (Qay Adaj) amongst the Empire’s foes. After initial successes against Tri-States and Persian squadrons in the Battles of Baylul and Zeila, Darkholdt was invested with the title of ''Bahr Nagash and the fief of Hamasin province. After privately funding and refitting a captured warship (the Tikur Zegereda or ‘''Sable Rose’) to Western Empire warship standards, Darkholdt successfully lobbied for additional funding and began a program of accelerated shipbuilding along Western Empire lines. He was given nominal control of the major Abyssinian ports of ''Adulis, Massawa, Zeila, Berbera, Assab, Baylul, Rahita ''and ''Tajura. By the time of the Battle of the Straits, Darkholdt’s navy was a formidable force. In the next two decades he led the Yabahratse (Imperial Navy) in campaigns which gave it complete dominance over the Red Sea and the North Western Coast of Africa as far south as Mogadishu. Current Situation Darkholdt has two flagships, the Azraba ''(the Hungry Crocodile), and the ''Bahrgeneb ''(Castle of the Sea). Today the Bahr Nagash is reckoned amongst the most powerful men in the Empire, controlling the life blood of foreign trade. He maintains the closest of ties with ''Romanus Servius Scipio and Vlad Tepesh ''and maintains connections with other members of the Sable Rose Society. After the untimely death of his first wife Miriam, he married into the influential Adulis mercantile house of ''Icheetyu. Under his guidance both House Icheetyu and the Sable Rose Society trade in complimentary, and not competitive commodities and he and his associates reap the benefits. Darkholdt has interests in the export of iron, gold and slaves, and the import of timber and high quality steel. He has three children: one adult son by his first wife Miriam (though currently estranged from him), and two infant girls by his second wife Rahel Icheetyu. Alexis Darkholdt is called by some arrogant and brash, however his rule is certainly flamboyant. Apart from the grandiose informal titles he has awarded himself (Warden of the Imperial Ports, Dagger of the Seas, Crocodile Regnant etc.) he has also built the now famous Azufan, and his remodelling and redecoration of the Bahr Nagash’s Palace and of Adulis in general is nothing short of lavish. It is as much this impertinent largess and arrogant braggadocio as much as his ‘foreignness’ which has incurred the enmity of a number of jealous nobles in the Imperial Court. Darkholdt is known to be savage in retribution, and generous in reward. His personal security and intelligence forces within Hamasin province are very effective and include not only regular troops but an elite ‘secret police’ called the Wanzadar ''and rumoured connections to the Adulis underworld.'' He is known to have an irrational hatred of the ''haylatiqit ''and has, several times, offered generous bounties for their eradication.